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In addition to offering competitive pay, one of the ways a company can attract and keep the highest level of employees is offering employee benefits. A company needs to maintain the proper balance between turning a profit and paying for employee benefits. Business owners must exercise vigilance to ensure the cost of the employee benefits does not affect a company’s revenue stream. This means monitoring company revenue, as well as doing comparison shopping for the best value when it comes to employee benefits.

1. Choose the employee benefits you wish to provide. A number of different employee benefits exist, ranging from retirement plans to health benefits to setting up college funds for employees. The most popular employee benefit, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, is offering paid leave for employees. In order to make sure you are getting the best benefits for the employee and are paying the least amount of money, compare different plans and programs to find the plan best suited for your company.

2. Examine the finances of the business to determine how much money can be spent on employee benefits. Take at least one year’s worth of data to see where the business stands. Make sure any employee benefits can be absorbed by the business without it impacting operating expenses.

3. Set up a file for each employee, detailing any benefits being given to the employee, including monthly costs. In addition, have an overall master file prepared to chart monthly expenses for all employee benefits. Make sure all documentation is maintained, since the Internal Revenue Service taxes any employee benefits provided by an employer. The IRS typically expects the employee to pay taxes on the benefits, but the IRS requires proof of any benefits given by an employer.

4. Set up any automatic withdrawals needed for employees matching any employee benefit contributions, such as retirement funds. Most banks offer the necessary documentation for obtaining authorization for having the employee-matching contribution taken out of the account. If an employee does not want to do that, the deduction can be taken directly out of the paycheck.

5. Monitor financial data on a regular basis. In order for a business to remain successful, the cost of providing employee benefits cannot cut into the company profits. When profits fall due to employee benefits, the company ceases to grow. If the financial picture changes, employee benefits might need to be scaled back or even halted. The employee benefits can return to their previous level when business returns.